Nike Chairman Phil Knight appears under a gigantic swoosh during the company's annual shareholders meeting in Beaverton, Ore. Knight announced on Tuesday plans to step down from the position next year.
JOHN GRESS
AP

Nike Chairman Phil Knight appears under a gigantic swoosh during the company's annual shareholders meeting in Beaverton, Ore. Knight announced on Tuesday plans to step down from the position next year.
JOHN GRESS
AP

Nike co-founder Knight will step down as chairman

Nike Chairman Phil Knight plans to step down, and says he wants President and CEO Mark Parker to succeed him.

Knight, 76, says he plans to stay involved with the company after he steps down as chairman. Parker has been Nike’s president and CEO since 2006.

Nike Inc. says it expects to name a new chairman in 2016, but no specific date was set for Knight’s departure.

Phil Knight co-founded Nike and has been a director of the company since 1968. The company also named his son Travis to a spot on the board Tuesday. Knight also says he will transfer most of his Nike stock to a limited liability company. The directors of that company will be Knight himself, Parker, and Nike directors Alan Graf and John Donahoe. He says the move will help maintain Nike’s corporate governance.

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